Thursday, September 22, 2016

RFK supporter is for Trump

Adam Walinsky, a lawyer, was an assistant to Robert F. Kennedy at the Justice Department and the Senate from 1963 to 1968. He wrote speeches for him. Sirhan Sirhan's murder of Kennedy on the night Kennedy clinched the Democratic presidential nomination did not shatter Walkinsky's beliefs.

Robert Kennedy reminds us that the essential characteristic of political leadership is not talk, however fine, but action. Whether it was a national assault on organized crime or inventing and effecting a plan to redevelop ghetto neighborhoods, Robert Kennedy would do it.

In all the years I knew him, I never heard Robert Kennedy say, ''If only President Kennedy had lived, things would be different now.'' That to him would have been weakness. He would speak about uncomfortable subjects repeatedly, telling suburbanites what it was like for a child to grow up with rats in the bedroom; he never gave up. ''All this is our responsibility,'' he said, ''not just a nation's responsibility but yours and mine.''

Perhaps our search for Robert Kennedy means that we are preparing to again measure our leaders, and ourselves, by such a strong and solemn test. That would be a fit observance of the most responsible American political figure of our lifetime.

This year -- nearly a half-century after that awful night in Los Angeles -- Walinsky will vote for Trump, and not just because Trump is the first candidate since Kennedy to make black ghettos a major issue.

Well may we seek reassurance whether Mr. Trump has the kind of cool judgment and self-possession that the presidency requires; the judgment that comes to the fore in crisis, that saves a nation or perhaps a world. No one can ever truly know how a future president will react to such enormous pressures. But Trump has given some evidence. He set himself a unique course toward the office, disdaining conventional wisdom, speaking more truth about politics and about America than any conventional consultant or adviser thought prudent or wise. And yet it is his independence, his willingness to name facts however unpleasant, together with his great political courage, that can give us hope and even some confidence that he may be up to the job. Perhaps most important, he has proven that he is not intimidated by the generals and admirals who have up to this day had their unimpeded way with our wars and our budgets, to the immense loss of both.

Flawed as he may be, Trump is telling more of the truth than politician of our day. Most important, he offers a path away from constant war, a path of businesslike accommodation with all reasonable people and nations, concentrating our forces and efforts against the true enemies of civilization. Thus, to dwell on his faults and errors is to evade the great questions of war and peace, life and death for our people and our country. You and I will have to compensate for his deficits of civility, in return for peace, we may hope as Lincoln hoped, among ourselves and with all nations.

Truly, America first, last and always; for ourselves and for our posterity. These are the reasons why I will vote for Donald Trump for president.

Walinsky sees as I see (and it is a great piece really worth reading) Trump changing the Republican Party, reining it in. Democrats are next. Then Washington.

***

My new book, "Trump the Press," is a fun read that details how the experts missed the rise of Trump. Remember how they said Trump was just running to help Hillary? Read the reviews in the right column.

I lived in CA in the sixties and 70s and was in LA the night R Kennedy was assassinated. The view of RFK at that time was not as gauzy bright as his speech writer now makes it out to be but then I of course didn't know him personally. His public persona then seemed more that of an opportunist. Kneeling in prayer with Caesar Chaves and his braceros in an empty CA field before returning to one of his family ocean front compounds in Palm Beach or Hyannisport had a certain paper mache touch to it, like Obama's Greek columns. Also the Kennedys were not unmilitaristic, as the Bay of Pigs was to show as well as their early movements in Vietnam. But the writer himself is not against military violence, at least for Isis, and without apology, which I found interesting. Maybe he can smell the Liberal Civilization killing rot that Islam carries with it. However his old Bolshevik roots stick out of the ground when Russia comes up. Presumably he feels Russia has always been misunderstood and that Reagan deserves no real respect for doing it in its Soviet composition. Will Trump be a patsy for Putin like the ever more strident Liaress says, donning her scary Romney bouffant? No. But he will not be the war man some would like him to be. To me he just seems like a rational person which is all we can expect or hope for.

There's a memory disorder called post traumatic amnesia. It usually happens following an accident of some type that causes head injury. A similar amnesia is observed in some people when general anesthesia is used for surgery. Basically, in both instances, you can't remember some things shortly before the event or shortly after the event; there is an uncertainty in recall and it just doesn't usually recover.

When I think back to 1968, the events are burned deep into my memory, yet, there is a confusion and uncertainty on what actually went on. It's almost dreamlike because everything now requires verificaition after the fact.

I think Bobby was a product of the times, just as Sanders was and just as Trump is. Bobby was a magnet to a group of (young) folks that were, for the most part, unicorn silver spooners that couldn't grow their hair out for some reason or another. The eastern establishment promoted Bobby during one of most terrible years to be recorded in the 20th century. Many of us social crusaders that were smoking pot and listening to Jerry Garcia and Steppenwolf just didn't support him. There was this sideshow called Tet coming in to our family rooms on the Philco, there was this pesky lottery thing that killed our childhood cohorts, and his brother deserved credit for planting us smack dab in the middle of Indochina and an unwinnable "police action." Bobby and his party was essentially guilty by association. There was also all the other underlying topics that surfaced specifically during the '68 Chicago Democratic convention. Bobby was young, and that did match the "Don't trust anyone over 40" meme of the day back then. So, as often is the case, history erases some things and wildly embellishes others. The fact that some youth rallied around him has largely promoted the urban legend of Bobby's change platform.

It is good to know, though, that old crusaders can actually have that "moment of clarity" after working through the 12 step program of "fool me once...fool me twice." Hunter Thompson had it during his "high water mark" phase. Change is the issue, and throwing the baby out with the bathwater is oftentimes the only cure. Change has always been the issue, but it has never happened. Maybe soon...maybe.

Didn't like Robert Kennedy then, still don't like him now. Seemed to me that he was just a bit opportunistic and well versed in the ability to change what he said depending upon to whom he was speaking. And I agree about the photo op stuff like with Cesar Chavez. To me, the Kennedys (Bobi, Tedi, and in retrospect, Johnni) were all nogoodniks. Their absence is welcome. Now, if only all the rest of the Kennedy clan could just fade away out of "public service."

As I remember the Cuban missile crisis, RFK was all for bombing the crap out of Cuba but his brother, JFK, was smart enough to listen to the wiser advice of George Ball, which helped to defuse the situation. The Russians got what they wanted from the compromise, which was for the US to take its missiles out of Turkey. In a word, RFK was a real SOB from the get-go, and everyone knew it.

About Me

I live in Poca, West Virginia, with my lovely wife of 40 years, Lou Ann. I am an Army veteran and Cleveland State graduate. I retired after 40 years as a newspaperman. In 2016, I published "Trump the Press," which drew rave reviews at Power Line and Instapundit.